Jose Santos Yanes v. U.S. Attorney General

PER CURIAM: Jose Santos Yanes appeals the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals that affirmed the denial of his application for cancellation of removal. 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b)(l). The Board found that Yanes was ineligible for cancellation of removal because he had been convicted of a crime of domestic violence, id. § 1227(a)(2)(E)®. We deny Yanes’s petition. The decision of the Board is consistent with the plain language of the statutes that *892 govern cancellation of removal. Section 1229b(b)(l) provides that, in cases of exceptional hardship, “[t]he Attorney General may cancel removal of ... an alien who is inadmissible or deportable” if he has remained in the United States continually for ten years, “has been a person of good moral character,” and “has not been convicted of an offense under ... [8 U.S.C. §§ ]U82(a)(2), 1227(a)(2), or 1227(a)(3).” Section 1227(a)(2)(E)(i) prohibits an alien from committing “any crime of violence ... against a current or former spouse.” Yanes does not deny that, in 2002, he was convicted in a Georgia court of hitting his wife, which is a disqualifying offense under sections 1229b(b)(l) and 1227(a)(2). See Matter of Cortez, 25 I. & N. Dec. 301, 310 (2010). Regardless of his status as an arriving alien or his eligibility for the exception for petty offenses, see 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(ii), Yanes is ineligible for cancellation of removal. See Matter of Almanzar-Arenas, 24 I. & N. Dec. 771, 776 (2009). We DENY Yanes’s petition.